19 March 2022 Can we apply essential oils on babies? At what concentration should I administer in elderly? Can we use essential oil at a high concentration for acute situation?
The administration of essential oils on infants is rather controversial. Many different aromatherapy masters have different views on it.
According to Lawless (2013), the dilution of essential oil would be as follow:
0-12 months - 5mL massage oil at 1%, use only Lavender, Rose, Chamomile, Mandarin, Sweet Orange
1-5 years old - 5mL massage oil at 2-3%, use the non-toxic or non-irritable oils
6-12 years old - Half of the adult amount, use all kinds of oil, except with specific medical condition
>12 years old - Same as adult amount, can use all kinds of oil, except with specific medical condition
Pregnant women - Half of the adult amount, use only citrus oil and neroli, avoid rose and jasmine
Elderly - Same or half as adult amount depends on medical condition, can use all kinds of oil, except with specific medical condition
In 2014, Tisserand & Young came up with another idea:
<3 months - No essential oil up to 0.2% 3-24 months - 0.5% 2-6 years old - 2% 6-15 years old - 3% >15 years old - 5%
We can see both of the above authors agrees to administer low-dose essential oils on kids younger than age of 2. However, referring to the protocol set by the International Federation of Aromatherapists, we should only apply essential oils not until 2 years old:
<2 years old - No essential oil
2-5 years old - 1-2 drops per 10mL carrier oil
5-12 years old - 1-4 drops per 10mL carrier oil
It might be confusing for all of us that which one we should follow. Let me show you some research articles about the use of aromatherapy on premature infant.
In a 2021 study, 61 premature babies were recruited to participate in a double blinded pain management research. True lavender was given by inhalation only. Results showed that the intervention was effective in controlling pain in premature babies.
Another research also utilised inhalation method to apply lavender essential oil for pain control during vaccination of infants at 2 months of age. The researchers reduced the concentration of lavender essential oil to 0.5% even for inhalation. The application was found to be effective also.
In 2004, Fernandez, et al. used 10% of lavender and rosemary essential oils in newborns of depressed and non-depressed mothers. Results highlighted that infants of the depressed mother noted with an increase in head turning frequency during the odour exposure.
A research about the use of oregano essential oil in baby food for children with cerebral palsy, in which researchers added 0.01% - 0.05% of oregano essential oils to the baby food. (FYI, the research was not using oregano to treat cerebral palsy, but for lengthening the shelf life of baby food.) From the research results, 0.05% of oregano worked better in lengthening the shelf life. My interpretation is if a baby can have baby food as shown in the research, the baby has to be at least 6 months old. Thus, probably it is still safe for us to apply essential oils on babies at a relatively low dose.
Looking at an Indonesian study on babies aged 3-6 months, the result suggested that infant massage with lavender essential oil could help to promote sleep in the babies. However, the article did not mention the amount of lavender essential oil added to the massage oil.
Perhaps after reading all these articles, we can assume that not until the age of 3 months, we should not apply essential oil through bodily contact and should dilute to at least 0.5%.
For our grannies and gramps, very simple, if they are patients with chronic diseases and on multiple medications / with deterioration of liver or renal function or both, please reduce the concentration from 3% to half or less.
References:
Lawless, J. (2013). The encyclopedia of essential oils: The complete guide to the use of aromatic oils in aromatherapy, herbalism, health & well-being. San Francisco: Conari Press.
Tisserand, R., & Young, R. (2014). Essential oil safety - A guide for health care professionals (2' ed.). U.K.: Elsevier.
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